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MLB's Rob Manfred Makes Announcement on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Nov 19, 2025 5:16 PM ET

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has reason to be excited as the league's offseason gets underway. For example, Game 7 of this past World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays averaged 51 million viewers between the United States, Canada and Japan, making it the most-watched MLB game in 34 years, per MLB.com.

Additionally, the complete seven-game series averaged 34 million viewers across those three nations, making it the most-watched World Series since 1992 and a plus-19 percent difference from 2024. Furthermore, this year's postseason was the most-watched since 2017, per MLB.com.

That growth coincides with Manfred's tenure as commissioner, which started in January 2015. The 67-year-old has implemented plenty of changes over the years, such as PitchCom, the pitch clock and the free runner on second base to start extra innings in the regular season.

Manfred made an announcement about PitchCom on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Evan Drellich.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

"MLB and PitchCom — the maker of the signal system pitchers and catchers adopted in the wake of the electronic sign-stealing scandals — agreed to a 6-year extension..." Drellich reported.

PitchCom is a wireless communication device that allows pitchers and catchers to transmit signals to each other. MLB has used it since 2022.

MLB and PitchCom — the maker of the signal system pitchers and catchers adopted in the wake of the electronic sign-stealing scandals — agreed to a 6-year extension, Rob Manfred said today.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) November 19, 2025

PitchCom to be Used in Tandem With ABS

Manfred released a statement after the announcement, via MLB.com.

“PitchCom is an example of on-field technology that gained widespread acceptance in a short period of time, which is a tribute to its product," he said. "From the perspective of both deterring sign-stealing and promoting better pace of play, PitchCom has been one of the answers that has helped us better serve our fans.”

Moving forward, MLB will also use another in-game technology. The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System was approved in September by the Joint Competition Committee for use in 2026, via MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.

"Considered a middle ground between so-called 'robot umps' that could call every ball and strike and the long-standing tradition of the natural human error that comes with human umps, the ABS Challenge System gives teams the opportunity to request a quick review of some of the most important ball-strike calls in a given game," Castrovince wrote.

MLB experimented with the system in the minor leagues for seven years as well as in MLB spring training and the All-Star Game in 2025. If both PitchCom and ABS keep working as expected, both should help continue to improve the integrity of the game.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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